During cooking, cookware can be exposed to a wide variety of temperatures. Many times, the temperatures used in preparing food can range beyond what is comfortable or safe for human skin. Cookware is designed to efficiently transfer heat from the cookware to food, specifically at a desired temperature at the desired time.
The type of materials being used to create cookware helps determine how and how well the cookware will transfer heat from the heat source. In many instances, cookware is made of metal that has a high conductivity. A material's conductivity is in part a measure of how well the material is able to transfer heat. For cookware, it is important to consider how well the cookware materials transfers heat in order to provide cooking.
Some materials, such as metal, have high conductivity and are thus favored in the construction of cookware. Among the favored, highly conductive materials are metals, namely copper, aluminum, iron and steel. Less conductive materials, such as glass and ceramics can also utilized in cookware; glass and ceramics are poor conductors, and as such, take longer to heat and cool which is ideal for preparations that require a long, slow cooking time.
During cooking, heat is transferred throughout the cookware to ensure even heat distribution as desired by the chef. Often times this heat distribution will continue throughout conductive materials (like metals) in the cookware, including the handle. A person then touching cookware that has been on the stove or freezer for a prolonged period of time may burn or injure him or herself when touching the cookware.
One remedy to prevent this type of injury is to use some type of protection when touching a hot or cold handle. While objects like a towel or pot holder may be used to insulate a handle, they do not provide a tight grip which could result in the cookware slipping and spilling its contents. Also, since towels and pot holders are used ad hoc to hold on to a handle, the user may feel discomfort from the handle over prolonged use.
While some cookware utilizes plastic handles or handle coverings to prevent injury to the user, these handles limit the use of the cookware. Plastics generally have a melting point lower than oven temperatures, leaving them susceptible to melting if left in the oven and ruining both cookware and oven. This limits the range and scope for the cookware to be used based on the properties of the handle. Likewise, such cookware can be more expensive since it requires additional materials for each individual handle or if more cookware must be purchased in order accommodate all possible uses.
There remains a need to protect a person from being injured from cookware while still providing the needed flexibility in using the cookware for a variety of purposes.